When the Edmonton Oilers acquired Devon Levi from the Buffalo Sabres for just a third-round pick on July 1, 2026, the reaction around the league was surprisingly muted. Many touted it as a depth move, while others questioned whether a goalie with just 39 NHL games and a career .894 save percentage could possibly be the answer for a Stanley Cup contender.
We’re here to tell you they are looking at the wrong numbers. The Oilers haven’t traded for the goalie Devon Levi has been, they’ve traded for the goalie he’s about to become.
For over a decade, Connor McDavid has dragged the Oilers into contention despite never having a true franchise goaltender behind him. Edmonton has iced elite offenses with Hall of Fame talent, and multiple Cup-calibre rosters, but every spring the same weakness emerges in net. They simply could not get the saves they needed.
That changes now. Levi represents something the Oilers have lacked throughout McDavid’s entire career: a young, technically elite goaltender whose development has been patient instead of rushed.
In 2020, Levi wasn’t a first-round phenom or even a highly touted CHL prospect. Roberto Luongo and the Florida Panthers selected him in the seventh round of the NHL Draft, from the Carleton Place Canadians of the CCHL, a Canadian Junior A league that rarely produces NHL stars. At the time, the selection barely registered outside of dedicated prospect circles.
Having committed to Northeastern University that season, he was set for his rookie season in 2020. However, because of the program’s long-standing policy that freshman goaltenders don’t start games during their first year, Levi spent nearly an entire season watching from the press box.
For most young goalies, an entire season without meaningful games would be devastating. But for Levi, it became one of the greatest blessings of his career. Instead of sulking, Levi refined every aspect of his game in practice, working closely with goalie coach Ed Walsh, with his previous dominant season getting him an invite to Canada’s World Junior selection camp. Almost nobody expected him to make the team, let alone play.
What then happened was one of the most magical runs by a Canadian goalie since Carey Price in 2005. Levi seized the starter’s crease almost immediately, starting seven of Canada’s eight games, and posted dominant numbers throughout the tournament to backstop Canada to a silver medal. He was, without a doubt, one of the biggest stories of the event.
Almost overnight, the anonymous seventh-round pick had become one of hockey’s premier goaltending prospects. And the Florida Panthers, hungry for a Stanley Cup fresh off of a finals loss, weren’t about to lose out on what they felt was Levi’s peak value.
During the 2021 offseason, the Panthers packaged Levi with a first round pick and sent him to Buffalo in exchange for Sam Reinhart, a forward who would become pivotal in Florida’s two Stanley Cup’s to come.
The following season the trade appeared a win-win: Levi became the NCAA’s best goaltender, winning the Mike Richter Award while also capturing Beanpot MVP honours. And although Northeastern fell short of the Frozen Four, there was little left for him to prove at the collegiate level.
After signing with Buffalo late in the season and appearing in NHL games immediately, it seemed almost inevitable that Levi would enter 2023-24 as the Sabres’ full-time rookie starter. The hype surrounding the young goalie was palpable.
But, over the next two seasons, Levi bounced between Buffalo and the Rochester Americans, receiving rare NHL opportunities while continuing to refine his game in the American Hockey League.
For impatient fans, and Levi himself, it felt like stagnation. But for goaltending coaches around the league, it appeared exactly how elite goalies are supposed to develop. However, last season things seemed to change. Devon spent the whole season in the AHL while Buffalo finally ended its decade-plus playoff drought. Remarkably, Levi wasn’t even third on the organization’s depth chart by year’s end, making him expendable.
That’s exactly why Edmonton acquired him for only a third-round pick.
Ignore the NHL save percentage for a moment, and instead look at the body of work. Over three professional seasons in the AHL, Levi has posted a remarkable 64-33-22 record with a .914 save percentage. Those are not the numbers of a struggling prospect.
Too often, fans expect elite goaltenders to dominate immediately after junior or college hockey, despite history suggesting otherwise. The position demands patience unlike any other in sports, and Levi has received exactly that.
He also arrives in Edmonton with something that will prove invaluable: 39 NHL games of experience. They were not perfect; his .894 save percentage and roughly .500 record not impressing anyone, but they also came before Levi’s 24th birthday. Those games were learning experiences. Every NHL start gave him another opportunity to adjust to faster releases, significantly more dangerous traffic, and the world’s best shooters. Those experiences cannot be replicated in practice or the AHL, and now Edmonton gets the benefit of all of them.
Just as importantly, Levi walks into arguably the best situation of his career. For years, the Oilers have desperately searched for stability in goal.
Cam Talbot gave them one excellent season before the organization ran him into the ground and eventually moved on, Devan Dubnyk never found his game until after leaving Edmonton, Mike Smith provided more entertainment than anything, Mikko Koskinen became the lightning rod for years of fan frustration,Stuart Skinner showed flashes during the regular season but repeatedly struggled in the biggest playoff moments, Tristan Jarry’s tenure ended almost as quickly as it began, and Connor Ingram didn’t stick around to become part of the solution.
Throughout McDavid’s prime, Edmonton has consistently possessed hockey’s greatest players while simultaneously lacking dependable goaltending when it mattered most. Imagine what the Oilers might have accomplished if they had simply received league-average playoff netminding.
Now imagine what happens if they receive league dominating goaltending.
Every Stanley Cup champion’s journey involves a pivotal move that transforms the franchise. Sometimes it’s obvious, and sometimes it barely makes headlines.
History may ultimately remember July 1, 2026, as that moment for Edmonton. The day they acquired a 24-year-old goaltender with elite collegiate pedigree, international success, more than three seasons of outstanding AHL play, meaningful NHL experience, and perhaps the highest ceiling of any young goalie to become available in years.
Connor McDavid finally has his goalie. And if Levi becomes the player many have believed he would be since that unforgettable World Junior tournament, there is every reason to believe Edmonton’s long wait for another Stanley Cup has finally come to an end.